Forget Me in the Meadow

What's your name?

Everything was sore: stiff wings, aching muscles, and a pressing migraine. Even moving her legs produced sharp jolts that made her lie still. The smallest movements of stirring brought her into consciousness, feeling the sheets and cushiony bed below. The room itself was dark, which helped her eyes adjust easily. Things around it began to take shape: the desk in the corner, file cabinets along the wall, and finally the thin bars that sectioned her off from the rest.

Though alarm rang through her, it took some time for her to sit up on the bed and stretch out each leg to relieve some of the soreness. Then she stood up, stumbled over to the bars, and touched a hoof to them. 'What is this?' Her heart began to race, making her head fuzzy. 'Why am I in a cage? This must be a mistake.'

The mare couldn't tell how long she had been there, or how long she waited for, until the first rays of morning seeped in through the windows. Now that there was light, she saw that the desk had multitudes of paper stacked on it and posters were hung on the walls. There was no way she could squeeze through the bars, and the door was quite locked- with no keys in sight. It reminded her of a dungeon and, like it or not, she was stuck there until another pony came for her.

The thought sent shivers down her spine, prickling her feathers along the way. 'What happened? Somepony must've put me here while I was sleeping. But who would do this? Have I done something wrong?' She turned back to the empty bed. There was the sheet she woke up with and another thick blanket beside it. It seemed tempting enough to crawl back into the bed, more than standing beside cold bars. Each minute that passed felt like a moon, while she rested there with eyes trained on the door.

Her patience quickly soured when the distinguishable sound of hoofsteps came from outside. The pegasus froze, wishing herself to blend in with the wall. Then a shadow was cast on the windows, tightening her chest until she felt faint. Did she really want to meet another pony this way? Would they be kind and civil, or ruthless? There was nothing she could do but watch as the door opened.

The pony who walked in was tall and stocky, pale yellow, and had a swept back mane. Another pegasus followed him inside, whose coat was white as the fluffiest clouds. When their eyes laid on her, stunned silence passed between all three ponies.

"You're awake." The white pegasus broke the silence first, while the other watched from the comfort of her sheets. "What's your name?"

"My name..." She stammered. A spark of panic shot through her as she thought back but found no answer. Her voice became quiet. "I don't know it..."

"You don't know your name?" The yellow stallion asked, approaching the bars. When she shook her head, he glanced at his companion. There was an air between them that made her skeptical.

"No I don't remember it, I don't remember anything, all of my memories feel... hazy. They're there, but I can't reach them. Can you please tell me what is happening?" While speaking, she could feel her heart picking up its pace.

"Don't worry, you're safe and you won't be in there long if you cooperate with us. Is there a name you'd like as a temporary one?" His calm, yet blunt tone made it difficult for her to think, and she found herself staring blankly at him. The white pegasus turned to place a hoof on his shoulder, giving him a look before offering a suggestion.

"What do you think about the name Hazy? It sounds cool, and a little mysterious. We could use it just until you remember your real name? Um, or you could pick your own."

Though she felt conflicted to take a temporary name from strange ponies, it wasn't a terrible idea. 'It feels like they're being nice to me, even if they did put me in here. They said that if I cooperate, I can come out. But I still don't know what happened. Perhaps I should trust them a little, for now.' From her place on the bed, she couldn't sense any kind of danger from them, but kept her guard up.